Masks Of Humanity
by Azuraa
Summary: Faith decides to take up the Slayer calling once again, and she won't be fighting alone
1. Default Chapter

   Disclaimer: I don't own any BTVS, Highlander, Angel, Charmed, X-Files, or

Tomorrow People  characters, only

the story and original content. Don't sue. All I have worth taking is a HUGE cookbook

and a new keyboard anyway

Distribution: well....ask, assuming anyone wants it

Spoilers: General for the TV shows mentioned above

                          **Masks of Humanity**

"Hey! Wilson!"  
Faith snapped awake.  She glared at the guard standing just outside her

cell. "Maier? What the hell?"

"Warden wants to see you. Now."  
"What for? It's three in the damn morning!"

"I don't know and I don't give a shit. Up."  
Grumbling, Faith came to the door. She didn't protest as the guard

opened the door and cuffed her,  then led her to the warden's office.

Maier, unlike most of the guards, was pretty cool. He'd never tried to

get into her pants, and he was a "straight ace", not taking bribes

or mistreating prisoners. He treated them all equally. Professional.  
An honest professional.

There were two other men in the office with Warden Garrett.

Faith tensed  as one of them grinned at her.  "Maier," she said in a

low, urgent voice, barely above a whisper.  
Her tone caught his  immediate attention. "What's wrong?" he asked 

sharply. 

"Uncuff me. _Now."_

"What--"  
"If you don't, that suit is going to kill us both." The man who'd grinned

was walking toward them, as was the other. The warden just sat on his

desk, watching, a .45 in his hand...and a cross on a chain around his neck.

"Sir, what's going on?" Maier stepped in front of Faith, his hand on the

butt of his own gun.  
"Get out of their way, Maier. She's not our problem anymore."

"Maier--!"   
He glanced at the men, in time to see one of them sprout fangs and rush

at  Faith.

Maier's gun was out almost too quickly for Faith to see it. He fired twice.

The first vampire's chest suddenly had a large, blood-gushing hole just

below the sternum. The second bullet was for his partner. The shot 

shattered his kneecap. He fell, shrieking in rage and pain.   
The Warden was on his feet. He gripped his pistol with both hands, aiming

straight at Maier.

_Snap!! _

The chain holding Faith's cuffs broke. She dove for the guard, knocking him to

the side. A bullet whizzed past them.   
Maier whirled, and fired a third time. The Warden's head exploded into a

morass of bright red fluid and bone fragments mixed with gray matter.

  
Absolute silence. 

  
Maier turned to Faith and unlocked her cuffs. "Are you hurt?" he asked.

"No. But-- those two aren't....even the one with the sucking chest wound

won't die. Not just from being shot."  
"What are they? Not humans, I take it." At her expression, he laughed. "I've

been working at this place for a _long _time, girl. What are they, vampires?"  
"Uh huh."  
"You a demon hunter, is that it? Wondered how you got so good at fighting--"  
"Slayer." Faith nodded. He deserved the truth. She looked around. "Hold on--"  
Picking up a wooden folding chair, she smashed it against a wall. It broke quite

nicely into several sharp pieces. 

She drove one into the lead vamp's chest, and hastily yanked it out again. He

exploded into dust. She staked the second vampire with little more effort.

"You can't stay here." Maier voiced what she was already thinking.

Faith glanced at him. "I know. I've been expecting someone to try this for

months, hell, over a year now. I don't know why they're only doing it _now, _

but something must've changed, outside. Something bad, I need to get with

the rest of the crew I...used to work with. They may need help big time. " She

remembered the dreams she'd been having all week, and shuddered. "From beneath

you, it devours," she whispered.

"Sorry?"

"Nothing. Look, I don't want to get you in trouble, but I have to leave. Right now."

"Understood. I can shut the security cameras off from here, temporarily, and wipe

the tapes. No one should miss you until breakfast, give you a few hours' head start."

"What about...."  
Maier smiled unpleasantly. "No one will ever find him either."   
An odd look--hungry?-- crossed his face. Faith decided not to ask too many questions.

She wasn't at all sure she wanted the answers.

"Take his gun, and the cross," Maier suggested. He removed them from the Warden's

body. 

"Thanks," Faith said, accepting them It was no time to be squeamish. She wiped the

cross off on her T-shirt.   
"Wait here and I'll grab you some clothes from one of the woman guards' lockers.  
You won't get far dressed in prison orange."  
He left. Faith dropped the cross necklace over her head. 

Maier returned swiftly with the clothes; jeans, sneakers, a T-shirt and jacket.   
She changed, and tucked the gun into the waistband of her pants. "Thanks," she said

one last time.

"Watch your back," was all he said. 

The Slayer didn't look back as she answered "Always do," and disappeared into the

chilly shadows.   
  



	2. Fight! Fiiight!

             **     Masks of Humanity**

Wesley opened his door. Lilah smiled at him. "I come bearing gifts,"

she said teasingly, holding up a small, foil-wrapped box.

He stood aside to let her enter. She looked lovely, as always, hair

impeccably wavy and coiffed, eyes bright, wearing a dress of dark blue

silk that fell just to her knees, and accented her figure while still leaving

something to the imagination.

"A new outfit?" He knew she enjoyed shopping-- "what point is there to

money if I never spend it?" she'd asked once. He couldn't dispute her logic.

  
Part of him wondered if she'd chosen that particular shade of blue because

he'd complimented a blouse she wore that looked similar.   
He wouldn't ask...though he was surprised to find himself thinking that

he hoped as much.

He kissed her. She responded with enthusiasm, but then drew away.   
"Open your present first," she urged.   
Smiling, he complied.   
His eyes widened. "Lilah, that's....where did you ever find one?" He lifted

the silver chain out of the box, holding the amulet at the end with both hands.

It was a single, round emerald, engraved with a Greek symbol, an W. 

"Found it at a place in San Francisco, part magic shop, part bookstore," she

answered. "Called Open Minds. The proprietor is a witch, the real deal...not

a powerhouse or anything, but very knowledgeable. I thought, with some of

your other activities, you could probably use it."

"So could you," he said. "Not that I'm ungrateful, far from it, but are you--"  
"Wolfram and Hart sets up protection spells for its' employees," she said. "The

higher up you are, the more they offer. I might still be _killed _by a vampire if

I'm fool enough to be caught without a stake or cross after dark, but I don't have

to worry about being turned.  Haven't for a while now." She helped slide the

chain over his head. He felt the stone pulse against his skin, like a tiny, living

heart. 

Lilah cupped his face in her hands. "I like those puppy-dog brown eyes of yours,

Wes," she said, a wry smile on her face. "I don't want to look into them some

fine night and see someonebesides you looking back at me. One of us being

a cold bitch monster from hell is enough, thanks." 

"Agreed. Hmm. I'll have to think of a way to express my gratitude, of course."  
He glanced past her, raising an eyebrow. "Is there someone in your car?" he

asked in a low voice.

"New bodyguard. Since I was promoted. Some Scottish guy-- Duncan something

or other. He showed up with a message from the Senior Partners, saying he

was assigned to me. Don't worry. He won't interrupt us. "  
Wesley reached around her to close the door. "Then we should make use of the

privacy." He swung her up into his arms, and turned to walk into the bedroom.

*                               *                                  *

Fred tossed and turned.   
Her dreams often tended to be uneasy, since her years in Pylea. Since she joined

Angel Investigations permanently, the nightmares had all but disappeared.   
It had helped that most of her co-workers tended to be "night owls", and didn't

mind her showing up in the kitchen--or at their respective doors-- at times when

most people were sound asleep. Angel in particular had been endlessly patient 

and willing to listen. 

Of course, when you're hundreds of years old and may live hundreds or even 

_thousands more, theoretically, letting someone cry on your shoulder for an_

_hour or two isn't all that bad, I would think. _  
She'd said as much to Angel, one night. He'd shaken his head.  "_Theoretically,_

_yes. These days I know of only a handful of vampires still in existence who are_

_more than a milennium old. For one thing, Slayers are getting smarter, better_

_at their jobs. Surviving longer. And all the power in the world doesn't seem to_

_stop vampires from getting set in their ways. Their habits become patterns, they_

_don't adapt, and sooner or later someone notices them. Somebody who doesn't_

_see 'eat people for a living' as a career choice."  _He'd told her about Dracula,

the _real _one, and Fred had laughed for the first time that week.   
  


This dream, however, wasn't about anything she'd seen in the past.   
Or if it was-- she didn't recognize it.

_A young man--maybe nineteen years old--and a girl, surrounded by_

_vampires. Vamps who didn't seem interested in killing them._

Linwood Price entered the dimly lit room, followed by that slimy little creep 

_Gavin._

_"Very well done."  
"What do you want with us?" the young man demanded. "Let us go--"_

_" You can't deliberately kill or harm any living thing, Adam. Yes, we know_

_your weakness, as well as your...unusual talents. Talents that my employers_

_appreciate. We've recently had to....terminate several of our older assets, so_

_I was instructed to acquire new ones." Linwood smirked. "Don't worry. You'll_

_be treated well...so long as you don't make more trouble than you're worth_

_to your owners. Collar them and take them to the dormitory," he instructed_

_Gavin._

_The girl struggled as two of the vampires held her, while Gavin fastened a_

_metal collar around her neck.  
"Adam, don't let them-- get away!" _

_"I'm not leaving you!"   
"What good are you doing me if you're locked up? Go!"_

_Adam hesitated-- then disappeared._

Linwood was clearly furious.  He turned on the vampires. "You said nothing 

_about teleportation--"  
"I didn't know!"   
The lawyer stared at the vampire who'd spoken. "All right," he said through_

_clenched teeth. "Sedate her and get her up to containment. Now."_

Fred woke, gasping.

She'd had that dream several times in the past two nights.  
If it had been Cordelia dreaming it, she would have thought, "vision",

but Fred had no such abilities....

But maybe they do, she realized, dismayed. Oh, I should have said 

something before now.....if this is real, those kids are in so much trouble!  
Stupid, Winifred! 

She pushed aside her covers. Grabbing a bathrobe off a nearby chair,

she got out of bed. 

Gunn was still out on a job, but Angel would be downstairs, getting ready

to "go to bed".... _Sorry, Angel. There goes the schedule again._

*                *                   *

Sunrise.

Faith peeked out the grimy window of her motel room. The first light of

dawn was sneaking over the horizon.   
She crossed the tiny room in three steps, stopping in front of the mirror.

She'd cut her hair to just above shoulder length, and used a take-home

hair color mix to change the shade. Now instead of dark brown, it was

auburn, and wavy rather than straight. Hell, were those _curls?  _What was

she, Shirley Temple? She ran a wet comb through her hair, with little

effect. 

She'd tried to phone Angel Investigations right after she checked in, but

had gotten an answering machine. Somehow she didn't think it would be

especially smart to leave the message "Oh, hi, Angel, I broke out of jail

last night. How's tricks?"   
She wasn't dressed in her usual style, leather and boots and T-shirts

either. Blue jeans, sneakers, a tank top. Not bad. A little too vanilla for her.

Hopefully, no one would pay that much attention.   
She left several bills on her dresser and quietly slipped out.   
She'd decided to go to Wesley's address first; it was closest.  By now the

police were almost certainly looking for her. She didn't want to stay out in

the open any longer than necessary.

Fifteen nervous minutes later, she was knocking on her former Watcher's

door. She heard someone come to the door, pause, presumably looking

through the peep hole. To Faith's surprise, she smelled perfume. _Expensive_

perfume.  _Whoa, Wes, you been getting some non-vamp action? Interesting._

Her sense of humor went AWOL as the door opened.

"What the hell are _you _doing here?" she snarled at Lilah.  
"I might ask you the same question," Lilah retorted. "I have a right to be

here. Last I looked, you don't."  
Faith backhanded her.Lilah was thrown into the doorframe. Her lip began to

bleed.  
"What did you do to Wesley, you little--"   
 A hand grabbed Faith's arm, spinning her around.   
"Miss Morgan?" The man holding the Slayer was tall, lean, muscular. Built

like a fighter, and _held himself like one, _Faith registered on one level.

She aimed the gun Maier had loaned her at the man's chest. "Back off,

tall-dark-and-trouble," she warned. "This is between the hellbitch and me."  
The man didn't even acknowledge that she'd spoken. He jerked the gun out

of her grasp, and struck her in the stomach. Hard. Faith doubled over,

gasping in pain.  
"Should I call the authorities?" she heard him ask.   
"No, I'll handle this myself. It's personal."  
He glanced at Lilah.   
Faith snatched the knife she'd just spotted out of its' sheath in his boot, and

slashed it across his neck, just missing the jugular.   
A moment later, she was back on her feet. She stalked toward Lilah.   
"You want to answer my question?"

"What's going on?" Wesley appeared behind Lilah, dressed in only jeans

and socks. He paled slightly. "Faith. What, did Angel send you over to

finish the job?"  
"_What? _Wes, what the hell is going on here?"

"You and he can compare notes," Wesley said. "He's recently started your

old hobby of trying to murder people who trust him." He rubbed at a

newly-healed scar across his throat.   
Faith's eyes narrowed. "Angel did that to you? No. He wouldn't. No way."

"Just call the police, Wes," Lilah said in disgust. "You don't have to explain

anything to her."

"_Actually, I believe I have first dibs on this one!" _

Faith whirled. 

The man she had just severely injured.....now didn't have a mark on him.

And oh brother was he pissed.   
"You like to use blades? Let's see if you can take it as well as you dish it out."

He reached over his shoulder, drawing a sword from somewhere beneath his

trenchcoat. 


End file.
